故
happening; instance; reason; cause; intentional; former; friend; therefore; hence; (of people) to die, dead
Closest English meanings
old·former·cause·therefore
The Calligrapher — Yán Zhēnqīng 颜真卿
Tang master of robust regular script; co-creator of the enduring 'Yan style'.
Tang calligrapher (709–784), master of regular script/running script — the Tang moral paragon whose upright, muscular regular script became the model of Chinese integrity in writing. Tang dynasty
Cultural Story
故 reaches back. 故人 is the friend of years; 故乡 the village you left. 故事 was first 'the old matter,' then the tale told of it; 故宫 the 'former palace' of the Ming emperors, now a museum of dust and lacquer. 故意 is to act on purpose, with the old intent. The word is memory wearing the face of cause.
Common words & phrases
- 故事 story · tale
- 故乡 hometown · native place
- 故意 deliberate · on purpose
- 故人 old friend
- 事故 accident · incident
- 故宫 Forbidden City · former palace
Read the story behind the character
You tell a 故事 to the child; 故乡 is the town you visit at Spring Festival; 故人 the voice on the old phone. 事故 is the crash on the bridge; 故意 the shove in the argument. 故宫 draws the queue around the block. The word holds the past and the plot, the hometown and the headline, all at once.
Own this character
Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Yán Zhēnqīng 颜真卿, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.